


Taps - Epilogue

by Miko



Series: We Shall Keep The Faith [19]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Multi, Parenthood, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 15:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4142292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miko/pseuds/Miko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nastya's teacher is in for a bit of a surprise.</p><p> </p><p>This fic should be read in sequence with the rest of the series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taps - Epilogue

In her long years of working in early childhood education, Georgina Davies had learned to spot certain archetypes among the students. Every class had a Chatty Cathy or Hyper Henry, the child who would not stop talking or moving regardless of how many times she reminded them to sit and be still. There was always their opposite, the Shy Sue or Sam, a child who was withdrawn and quiet no matter how hard Gina tried to draw them out. Sometimes that was a warning sign of bigger problems at home, but sometimes it was just the child’s nature.

There were others, among them what she thought of as the ‘4 Bs’; the brag, the boss, the brat… and the bully. Three days into the school year was a new record for finding the bully, but the whole thing sat badly with Gina. Anastasia Carter, for all that she’d punched another little girl so hard she’d loosened a tooth, didn’t match the usual profile in any other way. 

Nastya – as she preferred to be called, something she’d informed Gina of in no uncertain terms on the first day of class – hadn’t actually started the fight, although she’d been the one to turn it physical. She claimed Jaiden had been saying very bad words about one of the Avengers, which wasn’t exactly innocent behaviour. Goading someone else into attacking was still a form of bullying, after all. But defending your favourite superhero hardly justified getting into a fistfight.

Nastya also hadn’t argued or made excuses or tried to cover it up. She’d admitted straight off to throwing the punch, stated the reason for it very plainly, and hadn’t protested further when Gina scolded her. She’d been pouting, yes, but not protesting. 

Now she sat in the chair Gina had ordered her into, sulking and fidgeting with boredom, but not complaining or whining or claiming she had to go to the bathroom every five minutes. It was actually starting to unnerve Gina. Not many third-graders were so self-possessed, especially not the bully type. 

It was also half an hour past the end of school, and there was still no sign of Nastya’s parents. Gina was just contemplating calling the school secretary to make certain the office had actually reached a guardian when a knock came on the door.

“Come in,” Gina called, and a moment later a sultry redhead stepped through. She was beautiful, but in a way that suggested there was something hard and dangerous beneath the beauty. Gina’s brother was a career Navy SEAL, and he moved sort of the way this woman did.

The woman gave Gina a friendly nod, then looked at the little girl with a long-suffering expression. “Really, Nastya? Third day of school?”

Behind her came a dark haired man with impossibly broad shoulders and arms so muscled Gina could see the shape of them through his tight leather jacket. “Why are you surprised? That’s a day longer than last year.”

“I was kind of hoping we’d make it a week before getting called to the school, this time.” The redhead made a fatalistic gesture, then smiled at Gina and offered her hand. “Ms. Davies, I presume. It’s nice to meet you finally – we’ve been hearing about you nonstop for two days.”

“Good things, I hope,” Gina said, and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you as well, though I wish it were on better terms.”

Unfortunately their words confirmed that this wasn’t a one-time occurrence, but rather a frequent pattern. Gina sighed. She’d hoped that maybe she was wrong about the girl being one of the bullies, because Nastya had seemed like a genuinely delightful child for the first two and a half days. She was polite, cheerful, frighteningly intelligent, and very insightful for her age. Gina had thought she might be one of those ‘once-in-a-career’ kids who outshone everyone else by far and made all the years of effort that much more worth it.

Nastya said something in a language that sounded like Russian, at least to Gina’s untrained ear. “English,” the woman said, like it was a reminder. “Ms. Davies probably doesn’t speak anything else. Unless you do, in which case I’m sorry for assuming,” she added with another smile for Gina.

“I’m afraid not,” Gina laughed. “I didn’t realize Nastya was bilingual, although it does explain her nickname.” Though with a surname like Carter… well, presumably it was the husband’s. He had a hint of Brooklyn in his voice, and he looked all-American enough.

At least, he did until a second man came through the door and put him to shame in that category. This one was fair-haired and fair-skinned, not to mention being at least as well built as the first. He could have been European, maybe German or one of those Nordic countries where it seemed like everyone was blond and blue-eyed, but when he spoke his accent held the same trace of New York as the other man’s. 

“Bilingual doesn’t quite cover it. We’re trying to make sure the kids get as many languages as we can while they’re still young and it’s easy for them to learn. Nat alone speaks… how many are you at these days?” He raised an eyebrow at the redhead.

“I’ve stopped counting,” she shrugged. “More than the rest of you combined, and I don’t think you guys have any that I don’t. We’ve been pretty much sticking to the ones at least two of us can speak fluently though, so that’s only four. English, French, German, and Russian.”

“Our apologies for the tardiness,” a woman with a British accent added, coming in behind the blond and closing the door. Presumably that meant nobody else was going to join them, which was good because Gina was a bit uncertain how to handle the situation already. All three newcomers had that same deadly edge as the first woman, making it a little intimidating to be alone in a closed room with them.

Nastya was sulking again, pouting and staring at the floor with her arms crossed, so Gina couldn’t use her reactions to gauge which two were her parents and which were presumably other family members. Their body language wasn’t giving anything away, either - she wasn’t even certain which two were the couples.

The temptation was to assume that the dark haired child must belong to the dark haired pair, but Gina knew just enough about genetics to know that dark hair on the child didn’t rule out the blond or the redhead.

“I’m Gina Davies, Nastya’s teacher, obviously,” she introduced herself for the benefit of the newcomers. “And you are?”

The four exchanged a quick, concerned glance, and Gina could see there was an unusual level of silent communication going on between them. “You should have been given a full briefing before agreeing to take on this class,” the redhead commented, and her expression had turned wary. 

A _briefing?_ That sounded ominous. “I was called in to take over at the last minute when the contracted teacher had a family emergency that involved moving across the country,” Gina explained, her mind spinning with the implications. Was Nastya mentally disturbed in some serious way? “The principal is off for the week due to illness. I guess nobody thought to tell me, er, whatever it is.”

That resulted in another hasty conference glance, which the Brit ended by glancing at her watch and shaking her head at the other three.

“I’m afraid we have an urgent meeting to be at in half an hour, so the detailed explanation will have to wait for another time,” she said to Gina apologetically. “I’ll make certain you get the full disclosure package before tomorrow morning. If you find you’re not comfortable continuing as Nastya’s teacher, please don’t hesitate to say so. The school board has been quite accommodating overall, and will ensure you’re given an equivalent position with a different class. You needn’t fear losing your job.”

She finished with a smile, and offered her hand for Gina to shake. “I’m Peggy Sousa. This is Steve, that’s Natasha, and beside her is James. We’re Nastya’s parents, although you won’t often see all four of us at these meetings. I’m certain we’ll have a chance to get better acquainted in the future, but for now, what exactly happened?”

Why did those names sound familiar, in that combination? Not individually, she couldn’t recall hearing anything about a Steve or Natasha Sousa. Gina was generally careful to think of parents by their surnames, but in this case she’d have to make an exception or it would get very confusing with two pairs of Mr. and Ms. Sousa.

“There was an argument at recess and Nastya struck one of the other girls, quite viciously,” Gina reported. “I have a strict no-bullying policy in my classroom.”

“That’s good to know, but if you haven’t been given the Talk yet, you don’t know about the special circumstances involved,” Steve said with a dry sort of humour. She could hear the capital emphasized in his voice on ‘the Talk’. 

“Nastya? What do you have to say for yourself?” Natasha prompted.

Finally the little girl looked at the adults, still pouting. “Jaiden said that her mom said that Black Widow is a slut and a whore and should be ashamed of the way she behaves. So I hit her.”

Steve coughed into his hand in a way that suggested he was hiding a laugh and glanced at Natasha, whose eyes sparkled although her stern expression didn’t otherwise change. Peggy rolled her eyes, and James crossed his arms with a smirk that was also directed at Natasha. 

It definitely wasn’t the reaction Gina had been anticipating.

“Nastya, I told you last time, just because Jaiden said those things doesn’t mean you should repeat them exactly,” Gina scolded her. “Telling me that she said bad words would be enough.”

“Actually, we’ve made a point of training her to report on things precisely as they happened,” Natasha said. “It’s important that we know exactly what the situation is when we step in to deal with it.”

“Jaiden didn’t even get in trouble for the bad words,” Nastya added crossly.

That made Steve give Gina a sharp look. She blushed, grateful her dark skin would hide the reaction. “Jaiden was hurt badly enough that scolding her for language didn’t seem appropriate at the time,” she explained. “I did write a note for the nurse to pass on to her parents, and I plan to keep an eye on her in the future.”

“How severe was the injury?” Peggy asked, with a sigh that suggested it was a frequent question.

“Black eye, bloody nose, split lip, and a loose tooth. Thankfully Jaiden is late in losing her front baby teeth so no permanent damage done, but that was only luck,” Gina listed. In a way it was almost impressive how much damage Nastya had done with a single strike, but it was also incredibly worrying. That sort of extreme violence was never a good sign in a child.

“Bloody nose, not broken?” Natasha asked, and Gina nodded. “Well, she’s learning to pull her punches, at least. That’s something. So which is it, Nastya? Were you defending, avenging, or _re_ venging?”

“Defending!” Nastya exclaimed. “She shouldn’t have said bad things like that.”

“Was anybody in danger?” James asked pointedly. Scowling, the child reluctantly shook her head. “Then there was no call for a physical reaction and you know it. You defend words with words.”

“Says the man with arguably the worst anger control this side of Banner,” Natasha murmured, and he elbowed her. 

“That’s what we’re trying _not_ to end up with in the kids,” he retorted. “And I ain’t nearly that bad anymore, thanks.”

A suspicion was growing in Gina’s mind, one she couldn’t quite convince herself could be true. This was the nearest public school to the Avengers base and the majority of her class consisted of children of the people who worked there. Captain America was Steve Rogers, of course. Wasn’t Black Widow’s real name Natasha? She couldn’t recall if she’d ever heard the Winter Soldier’s name, but James did match the general description.

No. Surely not.

And yet it would explain why Nastya had been _so_ upset by the slurs, if the woman in question was not just a favourite hero but her mother. 

“Defending, avenging, or revenging?” Steve asked the little girl, his tone implacable. “Be honest, Nastya.”

The child kicked her feet a few times, still scowling, but finally sighed and muttered, “Revenging.”

“You know the rules,” Peggy scolded. “Defending is permitted, avenging you must check with one of us first, and revenging…”

“Isn’t allowed,” Nastya finished in chorus with her. “How come Misha never gets in trouble when he hurts somebody?”

“Misha is four, he doesn’t have control of his strength yet,” James said. “You don’t have that excuse anymore. Or are we gonna have to go back to home-schooling you until you do have control?”

“No!” Nastya’s expression shifted from sullen to frantic. “No, please. I like it here, Ms. Davies is smart and nice, and I’d never get to see Kayla and Tommy any more. It’s boring at the base.”

“You made it through second grade without putting anybody in the hospital. How ‘bout we try getting through third without sending anybody to the emergency room either?” Steve suggested wryly. “You’re not off to a bad start on that score, at least, but if you had enough control to pull the punch then you had enough not to throw it in the first place.”

“In the _hospital_?” Gina repeated, eyes wide. 

“The aforementioned extenuating circumstances,” Peggy told her. “I’m afraid we don’t have time to go into the details if we’re going to get back to the base in time for the briefing, but rest assured the parents of the children in your class were warned and have signed release forms. That’s why you’ve got such a small class, and they’re almost all from the base. As I said, if you find you’re unwilling to continue as her teacher…”

“Nastya has been a good girl other than today’s incident,” Gina broke in. “That’s why I was so surprised by the violent outburst. If she didn’t intend to hurt Jaiden so badly, I’m sure we’ll manage.”

To her surprise the child leapt up from her chair and flung her arms around Gina’s waist in an enthusiastic hug. Her grip was shockingly strong, almost painful, although she eased up immediately with a sheepish look. “Thank you, Ms. Davies! You’re the best, even if you didn’t scold Jaiden. I’ll be good, I promise.”

“All right, we need to get out of here or we really are gonna be late. It was nice to meet you, Ms. Davies,” Steve said, and shook her hand briefly. “C’mon, kiddo, let’s go.” Nastya went to his side, but instead of taking her hand in his as Gina expected, the man scooped her up with no apparent effort, resting her on his hip like she was a toddler.

“Steve, you’re rewarding her for bad behaviour,” Peggy chided him as they all turned and left the classroom. 

“No,” Gina heard him say, “I’m rewarding her for telling the truth and taking responsibility for her actions. The punishment for the rest comes after we get home, and she knows it.”

Gina moved to the door and watched them go down the hall, wide-eyed and wondering. She’d never been much of a superhero fan, and she’d rarely bothered to pay attention to the news about them. Of course she knew who the Avengers were, but although her brother had been horribly jealous when he’d found out where her new job was, Gina hadn’t cared about anything except the fact that it was a permanent position with a good salary.

Yes, three of the people who’d been in her classroom today did match the general descriptions and first names of some of the Avengers. But seriously? There was no way. 

Was there?

“Ooh, all four of them!” one of the sixth-grade teachers, Jennifer Miller, said from her doorway. She sighed after the group with a lustful expression. “Sometimes it’s just Ms. Sousa, but I do love the eye candy when one of the guys makes it in. Lucky ladies. I’d be willing to share, too, if it meant getting both of them.”

“Was that… were those really…?” Gina couldn’t even bring herself to finish the sentence, still disbelieving. 

“You bet,” Jen replied cheerfully. “Not one, not two, but three Avengers and the woman who runs the base. I can’t wait for the parent-teacher conferences when Nastya’s in sixth grade – especially since by then she’ll probably be a lot easier to handle.” She gave Gina a sympathetic smile.

“Which two are the parents?” Gina asked, dazed. _Sharing_? It would certainly explain the body language. And possibly the slurs on Nastya’s mother, come to think of it, which made it no better than teasing a child because her parents were divorced.

“If anybody knows for sure, they’re not talking. And believe me, the tabloids have tried,” Jen laughed. “The kids both have Carter as their last name, which isn’t the same as any of the four. Definitely not adopted though, given the way Nastya breaks nearly everything she touches. They’ll show up in any combination for meetings and special events, depending on who’s busy at the time. You get used to it. Didn’t anybody warn you?”

“No, apparently that part got missed in the chaos,” Gina said dryly. She stared after the strange family, though they’d long since disappeared from sight.

If she was right and the ‘special circumstances’ were that Nastya sometimes forgot her exceptional strength, and she hadn’t meant to hurt Jaiden so badly, and had even more justification for her upset than Gina had understood at the time… well, Gina found it hard to believe the child of _that_ group could be a bully, especially with the careful way they’d been disciplining and coaching her.

Even if it was equally hard to believe any parent would willingly sign off on having their child in a class with a little girl who could potentially kill them by accident. Then again, presumably the base kids interacted with her and her brother all the time, anyway. It was probably pretty important they get socialized _somehow_ , and if they were being home-schooled until they were at least somewhat safe that made sense.

If one of the brightest girls she’d yet had the pleasure of teaching happened to be the child of the Avengers, well, Gina could definitely deal with broken school supplies and the occasional bloody nose. 

Her brother might never speak to her again, though.

**Author's Note:**

> Omg it's done. What the heck did this fic even do to my life, it ate me alive. Yeesh. Thanks again to everyone who stuck with me this far, and to everyone who will find it in the future. It's been a wild ride!


End file.
